Some Intitial Thoughts - Part One

Perhaps the best insight that I have ever had regarding mercy and grace came to me one of the first times I was asked to preach at my home church almost 10 years ago. I preached a sermon entitled The Gospel Truth. In order that you might get to know the real me, and more fully understand why I do what I do and why I am who I am, I thought that as an introduction to this blog, I would share that sermon with you.

I have done this in two parts to help break up the length just a little (whatever you do, read both parts!). I hope and pray that these contributions will speak to you in the deepest part of your being about grace and mercy.

Title: The Gospel Truth

Scripture: John 8:1-11

It has been said that Christianity is predominately a religion of mercy and grace. And while I believe this to be true, I also think that these terms are over-used, not well understood and sometimes not really believed. We use the words with great regularity, but rarely think about what they mean.

In his book, What’s so Amazing About Grace, Phillip Yancy points out that part of our problem is in the nature of grace itself. Grace is scandalous. Grace is hard to accept, hard to believe, and even harder to receive. Grace shocks us at what it has to offer. Grace is truly not of this world. It frightens us with what it does for sinners.

Grace teaches us that God does for others what we would never do for them. We would maybe save the not-so-bad, but God starts with the prostitutes and works downward from there. Simply put, grace is a gift that costs everything to the giver and nothing to the receiver. It is given to those who don’t deserve it, barely recognize it, and hardly appreciate it. That is why God alone gets the glory in our salvation, we didn’t do anything to get it…Jesus did all of the work on the cross.

In the end grace means that no one is too bad to be saved. You might even say that God specializes in saving bad people. God’s grace is always greater than our sin.

Grace can also make it difficult for some to be saved. While God’s grace is available to everyone, we must recognize our need for it and respond to him with acceptance of it.

But what about mercy? I think that mercy is just as scandalous as grace. In fact I would go so far as to say that you can’t have one without the other. They are fraternal twins, if you will.

The best explanation that I have ever seen or heard about the distinction between mercy and grace actually comes out of my wife’s study bible. Simply put, to receive grace is to receive a gift that we can not earn and do not deserve. Mercy is not receiving what we do deserve.

Think about that for a minute, while I repeat it: Grace is a gift that we cannot earn and do not deserve; while mercy is not receiving what we do deserve.

With these things in mind, I want to turn back to our scripture lesson this morning. What do you think of when you hear today’s scripture? What questions come to mind?

My first question is how many sins did the Pharisees and the teachers of the law have to commit in order to catch this woman red-handed in adultery?

My second question is where is the man?

A third question might be what was Jesus writing in the dirt?

As interesting as these questions may be to me and to others, I am not sure that the answers to these questions would shed a great deal more light on the story.

Before we go much further, let me be sure that we are on the same page. I want you to rethink the scene that is being described for us. However the accusers came about their information, they have discovered this woman and pulled her away from her affair. If she was able to replace any clothing, it was probably torn and tattered in her removal from the scene. With her garments ripped and dangling at her waist, she is pushed and shoved with staffs and forearms toward the place where Jesus is teaching. She is led into broad daylight naked and humiliated. Onlookers begin to shout out criticisms and names. She is spat on and has dirt thrown at her. She has been publicly shamed while tears of regret stream down her face. She is led through the street to the temple courts where the other women are left outside and she is placed on display in front of a group made up entirely of men.

Now the accusers state their case to Jesus. They insist that stoning is the proper thing to do based on the Law of Moses. After all, there were at least 11 offenses---adultery included---that were punishable by death---even by stoning. It is at this point that one of the most remarkable things in scripture happens. Right now, at this very moment, Jesus changes his position. He steps down, if you will, from his place of teaching and his place of judgment, taking on the poster of a servant, and writes in the dirt. He doesn’t look at the woman, but instead continues to write. The accusers are persistent. When Jesus finally does change his position again, when he goes from servant to teacher and from slave to judge, it is not the woman that he addresses. Instead it is the accusers.

He tells them if there is even one among you that may have not sinned, go ahead throw the first stone…then the rest will be free to follow. Once Jesus has said his peace, he returns to his more servant like position and resumes writing in the dirt. A teacher and judge that has risen to the occasion not by judging the hurt, the broken and the lost, but has instead passed judgment on the accusers.

The crowd of men, that had been standing there poised with stones in hand ready to act, began to drop their stones and leave. One by one the crowd thins. First the wise elders are convicted of their own sin and are forced to recognize their inadequacy to punish the woman. Then slowly everyone else disappears until there is no one left except Jesus and the woman. Jesus stands again, taking his rightful position as teacher and judge. It is at this point that he addresses the woman for the first time. “Where are your accusers? Have none condemned you?”

Not believing her eyes or her ears she whimpers, “No one, sir.”

Then Jesus says to her, “then neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more”

It is at this place in Scripture that we come face to face with the Gospel Truth. After all, here is a woman that according to law should have received death by stoning. But Jesus grants her mercy in that she did not receive what she really deserved. Here is a woman that has done everything to un-earn the right to stand before God by disobeying his commandments, yet Jesus has granted her grace...she is granted redemption and restoration…gifts of grace that she did not earn, but received nonetheless.

You see, the Gospel Truth is not about judgment, it is about mercy. The Gospel Truth is not about condemnation, it is about grace. The Gospel Truth is not about legalism and the following of rules, it is about relationship. The Gospel Truth is not about information, it is about transformation.

Time and time again, scripture tells us of this truth. Time and time again, scripture cries out the good news.

We read of toll collectors and fisherman with tempers becoming disciples. We read of a religious persecutor by the name of Saul becoming God’s messenger to the gentiles. We read of men and women that have been cast aside because of illnesses or life choices that have been restored in their relationship with God and those around them. And the list goes on.

For many of us this is not new news. When we came to acknowledge Christ as the Lord of our lives, we understood about the mercy and the saving grace of the cross. For others of us, it might have been good to hear this story…for we have found ourselves in similar trouble. Hounded by our accusers, convicted of sin, desperate with no where to turn…and now, out of no where comes real hope. That hope is the promise that this same mercy and this same grace is still available for all of us today.

But what about those of us that may not remember…maybe we are too far removed from that saving grace experience. Maybe we are facing trouble and turmoil in our lives…maybe we are facing uncertainty or loss. What about grace and what about mercy for people like us?

Maybe you are in a place where you can relate to Paul’s words in Romans 7:15-17 which say, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.”

We must remember that even with Paul’s thorn, he still believed in the Gospel Truth…he still believed in mercy and grace. In Romans 8:38-39 he wrote, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The adulterous woman understood the Gospel Truth. Paul understood the Gospel Truth. But what about us? What do we understand about the Gospel Truth? You may be thinking, that this is all fine and dandy…these are some great stories and some great points, but the information that you have presented to us thus far is almost 2000 years old. What about today? What about the struggles that I am having? What about the loss that I am facing? What about today?

Stay tuned for the second part of the sermon and the answers to some of these questions!

Peace,

Russell